I started at Hughes three and a half years ago. Seems like a really long time now. A little more than two years ago, I was tasked with designing a new website for the agency. At that time, we were growing as a company and putting more focus on digital, so the design needed to reflect those initiatives. It needed to be really fun and entertaining, but also speak to some of our more reserved clients and audiences. It had to pay tribute to our heritage and lay the groundwork for the future of the company at the same time. And on top of all that, It had to be on time, and on budget.
For a 23 year old kid fresh out of design school that seemed like a daunting task. I think my exact words to the partners at the time were “No pressure or anything...” With the help of some very talented people that have since moved on, we accomplished something that I was truly proud of. We had a awesome concept come to life in the form of an introduction video that lived on home page, an impressive gallery of work, some flash pieces that explained services and teams, but the most famous or if you ask some, infamous, part was the people page.
If you have never visited our old people page it bore a strong resemblance to the old Brady Bunch opening credits. Our entire team was laid out in a grid for you to take a gander at. What users didn’t know was that the second they moved their mouse anywhere, we were all going to look back. Using some pretty slick code, everyone in the agency’s face never took their eyes of the cursor. It was pretty cool. From there you could click and learn all about your future advertising partners. History, hobbies, favorite sports team, drinking habits, it was all there.
Meetings would never be the same. It never failed. At some point potential clients were going to say “I really love that Brady Bunch thing. That is just awesome.” Couple that with family members, friends and fellow St. Louis agency folks’ remarks and I thought we had created something really special.
Recently, the site won the “Best Website” award in the annual Riverfront Times competition, eighteen months after its initial launch. I have to say it was a pretty cool and humbling award to receive. Whats funny about the whole thing, which I am sure you are well aware of since you are sitting here reading this post, is that when we won the award, we were ready to launch our new site.
As many of you have probably observed, there is no Brady Bunch page. Not because we don’t like our people, they are all wonderful and extremely talented. When we set out to launch the new HLK brand, we stepped back from everything and thought about what it should stand for. What we settled upon was something that isn’t going to revolutionize the advertising industry. We didn’t trademark any 13 syllable words or fashion some newfangled mission statement or mantra. What we did was put the work first, because that’s what everyone at HLK does.
What you will find on the site is that the work comes to the forefront. Each portfolio piece has multiple full frame images, big video players so you can really see the work that went into each and every broadcast assignment. There are insights about each piece from initial expectations to end metrics and success stories. And even words from the clients and team members that worked on the projects to provide a little personal perspective. It’s never about our individual egos. It is our hope that our portfolio speaks for itself.
